Large-capacity PV inverters with rated outputs of 2.7MW and 3.2MW, etc are manufactured at the new factory. (source: Nikkei BP)

Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corp (TMEIC) had an opening ceremony for a power electronics factory that it built in Katy City, Texas, the US, Nov 2, 2017.

The factory produces PV inverters for mega (large-scale) solar power plants, UPS (uninterruptible power supply) systems and inverters for driving motors for the North American market. It was completed and started operations in August 2017.

TMEIC has been operating another power electronics factory in Houston, Texas, since 2014, producing PV inverters and inverters for driving motors. The number of orders for its PV inverters for mega solar plants has been favorable in the North American market and is expected to further grow. Therefore, the company constructed the new factory in Katy City, which is adjacent to Houston.

TMEIC transferred the production of PV inverters to the new factory and newly started to manufacture UPS system for the North American market. The PV inverter production capacity of the new plant is 1.5GW per year in terms of output, which is an increase of about 200%, compared with the previous production system.

Katy City is located in a suburb of Houston, and the new factory was built in an industrial park developed and managed by a local government. The site and building areas are 13,100m2 and 4,180m2, respectively. The factory building is leased. The factory is operated by TMEIC Power Electronics Products Corp (TMPE), a production subsidiary of TMEIC.

The opening ceremony was participated in by more than 100 people including those who are related to TMEIC, TMPE, Texas State, Katy City, the Japanese Consulate General in Houston and the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Houston.

"We will achieve the largest shares of the markets for PV inverters and UPS systems and make it the No. 1 power electronics factory," TMEIC President & CEO Masahiko Yamawaki said.

This time, TMEIC invested a total of about US$21.5 million (about ¥2.5 billion) in the two factories in North America, and ¥1.7 billion of the money was used for the construction of the new factory. The company aims to (1) improve the capability of meeting delivery dates by expanding the production capacity of the factories and (2) increase the number of orders by accepting visitors/observers to the factories and improving customer trust.